Sweden vs Slovakia
Sweden vs Slovakia takes place on June 18 in St Petersburg in the third match of Group E. Sweden come into the game having withstood a Spanish onslaught to draw in Seville, while Slovakia overcame the odds and a ten-man Poland team to win in this stadium on Monday night. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips to help you.
Form
Looking at the stats, Sweden had no right to take anything from their opening game. Janne Anderson’s side had just 15% of possession and just one shot on target, but came away with a credible 0-0 draw thanks to some heroics from keeper Robin Olsen. Sweden have only conceded one goal in six games since November and have set themselves up for a real chance of progression.
They face an unfancied Slovakia side who took down Poland 2-1, in part thanks to Poland’s keeper Wojciech Szczesny scoring an own goal and then Grzegorz Krychowiak getting a second yellow card in the second half. Inter defender Milan Skrinlar scored his third international goal of the year to win it for the Slovaks who are unbeaten in six games. Another win here will see them into the last 16 - something surely no one in Slovakia could have expected.
Injuries
Sweden have no new injuries to contend with after their game with Spain, which means coach Janne Anderson has the luxury of a full squad to choose from. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic isn’t one of them, Alexander Isak showed glimpses of his immense promise against Spain and he will be a key player in this fixture.
Slovakia skipper Marek Hamsik has had a niggly calf injury but he completed 90 minutes against Poland and should be fit to play again in this game. The IFK Goteborg midfielder has more caps and more goals than any other Slovakian player and is a talismanic presence for manager Stefan Tarkovic; one wonders how Slovakia could cope without Hamsik.
Match Prediction
Sweden come into the game as favourites, which probably reflects their superiority in ranking over Slovakia. However, as stout as Sweden were defensively against Spain, they will need more attacking threat in this game. Unsurprisingly, the under 2.5 goal odds are incredibly low, and we don’t think there will be value in betting tips in that market or the BTTS market. In a match which could be won by the odd goal, it might be best to back Slovakia +1.
